Lamentations 1 (JND) - Bible Truth Library

"And it came to pass after Israel had been carried captive, and Jerusalem was become desolate, that Jeremiah sat weeping, and lamented with this lamentation over Jerusalem, and said."

Lam. 2:1• ¹How hath the Lord in his anger covered the daughter of Zion with a cloud! He hath cast down from the heavens unto the earth the beauty of Israel, and remembered not his footstool in the day of his anger. (Lam. 2:1)

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Lam. 4:1• ¹How is the gold become dim! the most pure gold changed! the stones of the sanctuary poured out at the top of all the streets! (Lam. 4:1)

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Isa. 14:12• ¹²How art thou fallen from heaven, Lucifer, son of the morning! Thou art cut down to the ground, that didst prostrate the nations! (Isa. 14:12)

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Jer. 50:23• ²³How is the hammer of the whole earth cut asunder and broken! How is Babylon become an astonishment among the nations! (Jer. 50:23)

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Zeph. 2:15• ¹⁵This is the rejoicing city that dwelt in security, that said in her heart, I am, and there is none else beside me: how is she become a desolation, a couching-place for beasts! Every one that passeth by her shall hiss, shall wave his hand. (Zeph. 2:15)

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Rev. 18:16‑17• ¹⁶saying, Woe, woe, the great city, which was clothed with fine linen and purple and scarlet, and had ornaments of gold and precious stones and pearls!
¹⁷for in one hour so great riches has been made desolate. And every steersman, and every one who sailed to any place, and sailors, and all who exercise their calling on the sea, stood afar off, (Rev. 18:16‑17)

sit.

Lam. 2:10• ¹⁰The elders of the daughter of Zion sit upon the ground, they keep silence; they have cast dust upon their heads, they have girded themselves with sackcloth: the virgins of Jerusalem hang down their head to the ground. (Lam. 2:10)

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Isa. 3:26• ²⁶and her gates shall lament and mourn; and, stripped, she shall sit upon the ground. (Isa. 3:26)

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Isa. 47:1‑15• ¹Come down and sit in the dust, virgin-daughter of Babylon! Sit on the ground,--there is no throne, O daughter of the Chaldeans; for thou shalt no more be called tender and delicate.
²Take the millstones, and grind meal; remove thy veil, lift up the train, uncover the leg, pass over rivers:
³thy nakedness shall be uncovered, yea, thy shame shall be seen. I will take vengeance, and I will meet none to stay me . …
⁴Our Redeemer, Jehovah of hosts is his name, the Holy One of Israel. …
⁵Sit silent, and get thee into darkness, daughter of the Chaldeans; for thou shalt no more be called, Mistress of kingdoms.
⁶I was wroth with my people, I polluted mine inheritance, and gave them into thy hand: thou didst shew them no mercy; upon the aged didst thou very heavily lay thy yoke;
⁷and thou saidst, I shall be a mistress for ever; so that thou didst not take these things to heart, thou didst not remember the end thereof.
⁸And now hear this, thou voluptuous one, that dwellest carelessly, that sayest in thy heart, It is I, and there is none but me; I shall not sit as a widow, neither shall I know loss of children:
⁹yet these two things shall come upon thee in a moment, in one day, loss of children and widowhood; they shall come upon thee in full measure for the multitude of thy sorceries, for the great abundance of thine enchantments.
¹⁰For thou hast confided in thy wickedness: thou hast said, None seeth me. Thy wisdom and thy knowledge, it hath seduced thee; and thou hast said in thy heart, It is I, and there is none but me.
¹¹But evil shall come upon thee--thou shalt not know from whence it riseth; and mischief shall fall upon thee, which thou shalt not be able to ward off; and desolation that thou suspectest not shall come upon thee suddenly.
¹²Stand now with thine enchantments and with the multitude of thy sorceries, wherein thou hast laboured from thy youth; if so be thou shalt be able to turn them to profit, if so be thou mayest cause terror.
¹³Thou art wearied in the multitude of thy counsels. Let now the interpreters of the heavens, the observers of the stars, who predict according to the new moons what shall come upon thee, stand up, and save thee.
¹⁴Behold, they shall be as stubble, the fire shall burn them; they shall not deliver themselves from the power of the flame: there shall not be a coal to warm at, nor fire to sit before it.
¹⁵Thus shall they be unto thee with whom thou hast laboured, they that trafficked with thee from thy youth: they shall wander every one to his own quarter; there is none to save thee. (Isa. 47:1‑15)

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Isa. 50:5• ⁵The Lord Jehovah hath opened mine ear, and I was not rebellious; I turned not away back. (Isa. 50:5)

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Isa. 52:2,7• ²Shake thyself from the dust; arise, sit down, Jerusalem: loose thyself from the bands of thy neck, captive daughter of Zion.
⁷How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that announceth glad tidings, that publisheth peace; that announceth glad tidings of good, that publisheth salvation, that saith unto Zion, Thy God reigneth! (Isa. 52:2,7)

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Jer. 9:11• ¹¹And I will make Jerusalem heaps, a dwelling-place of jackals; and I will make the cities of Judah a desolation, without inhabitant. (Jer. 9:11)

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Ezek. 26:16• ¹⁶And all the princes of the sea shall come down from their thrones, and lay aside their robes, and put off their broidered garments: they shall clothe themselves with trembling, they shall sit upon the ground, and shall tremble every moment, and be astonied because of thee. (Ezek. 26:16)

full.

Psa. 122:4• ⁴Whither the tribes go up, the tribes of Jah, a testimony to Israel, to give thanks unto the name of Jehovah. (Psa. 122:4)

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Isa. 22:2• ²Thou that wast full of stir, a town of tumult, a joyous city: thy slain men are not slain with the sword, nor dead in battle. (Isa. 22:2)

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Zech. 8:4‑5• ⁴Thus saith Jehovah of hosts: There shall yet old men and old women sit in the streets of Jerusalem, each one with his staff in his hand for multitude of days.
⁵And the streets of the city shall be full of boys and girls playing in the streets thereof. (Zech. 8:4‑5)

as a.

Isa. 47:8‑9• ⁸And now hear this, thou voluptuous one, that dwellest carelessly, that sayest in thy heart, It is I, and there is none but me; I shall not sit as a widow, neither shall I know loss of children:
⁹yet these two things shall come upon thee in a moment, in one day, loss of children and widowhood; they shall come upon thee in full measure for the multitude of thy sorceries, for the great abundance of thine enchantments. (Isa. 47:8‑9)

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Isa. 54:4• ⁴Fear not, for thou shalt not be ashamed; neither be thou confounded, for thou shalt not be put to shame: for thou shalt forget the shame of thy youth, and shalt not remember the reproach of thy widowhood any more. (Isa. 54:4)

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Rev. 18:7• ⁷So much as she has glorified herself and lived luxuriously, so much torment and grief give to her. Because she says in her heart, I sit a queen, and I am not a widow; and I shall in no wise see grief: (Rev. 18:7)

great.

1 Kings 4:21• ²¹And Solomon ruled over all kingdoms from the river to the land of the Philistines, and as far as the border of Egypt: they brought presents, and served Solomon all the days of his life. (1 Kings 4:21)

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2 Chron. 9:26• ²⁶And he ruled over all the kings from the river as far as the land of the Philistines, and up to the border of Egypt. (2 Chron. 9:26)

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Ezra 4:20• ²⁰And there have been mighty kings over Jerusalem, who have ruled over all beyond the river; and tribute, tax, and toll were paid to them. (Ezra 4:20)

how is.

Lam. 5:16• ¹⁶The crown is fallen from our head: woe unto us, for we have sinned! (Lam. 5:16)

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2 Kings 23:33,35• ³³And Pharaoh-Nechoh had him bound at Riblah in the land of Hamath, that he might not reign in Jerusalem; and laid a tribute upon the land of a hundred talents of silver and a talent of gold.
³⁵And Jehoiakim gave the silver and the gold to Pharaoh; but he laid a proportional tax on the land to give the money according to the command of Pharaoh: he exacted the silver and the gold of the people of the land, of every one according to his estimation, to give it to Pharaoh-Nechoh. (2 Kings 23:33,35)

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Neh. 5:4• ⁴And there were that said, We have borrowed money for the king's tribute upon our fields and vineyards; (Neh. 5:4)

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Neh. 9:37• ³⁷And it yieldeth much increase unto the kings whom thou hast set over us because of our sins: and they have dominion over our bodies, and over our cattle, at their pleasure; and we are in great distress. (Neh. 9:37)

• The distressing prostration of Jerusalem, not the death of the pious king cut down so young, is clearly in view. The description of the state of the city, sanctuary, and people does not accord with Josiah's death; and even the king, whose humiliation is named (chap. 2:9), could not possibly be Josiah, who was slain in battle, instead of being among the Gentiles and therefore in captivity. It was no doubt Jehoiachin whose varied lot we can easily trace by comparing the prophecy and 2 Kings 24; 25. All the circumstances of that time tally with the bewailings here. (“Lamentations of Jeremiah: Introduction” by W. Kelly)

• The form is very notable; save in the last chapter, all are acrostic or at least alphabetic....those admirable and even early Psa. 25; 34; 37 are similarly constructed, not to speak of the wonderful Psa. 119 and several others in the same fifth book of the Psalter (111., 112., 145.). (“Lamentations of Jeremiah: Introduction” by W. Kelly)

• The first, second, and fourth chapters are so written that each verse begins with one of the twenty-two letters of the Hebrew alphabet in due succession, save that in the second and fourth follows instead of preceding E; and the same transposition occurs in chapter 3, where we have three verses instead of single ones, which so commence; and hence there are in it 66 verses. Another peculiarity is to be noticed, that each verse (except 1:7, 2:19) is a sort of triplet in chapters 1, 2, and 3. Chapter 4 is characterized by couplets (save ver. 15); and a singular structure is traceable in chapter 5, save that it does not begin with the letters of the alphabet, though it consists of twenty-two verses. (“Lamentations of Jeremiah: Introduction” by W. Kelly)

J. N. Darby Translation

aHow doth the city sit solitary that was full of people! She that was great among the nations is become as a widow; the princess among the provinces is become tributary!

JND Translation Notes

In chs. 1 and 2 the initial letter of each verse, consisting of three parts or lines, follows the alphabetical order.